MGS Feedback - 30/9/14.

1. Explore experimental film. Why?

2. Must apply intensity to own work bearing in mind my limitations, i.e. nothing too ambitious.

3. By Friday, look at at least three different videos from either vimeo, shortshorts or BBC short films.

4. Consider a theme that is fairly simple which I attempt to explore visually but in an experimental manner. E.g. Travel; journeys (spiritual, literal etc.), commutes, walking, public transport (bus, train, airplane.)

5. Analyse 'Imprisoned Paradise' - prose/poetry overlaying visuals.

6. For home and abroad - take stills or moving image of landscapes/sea scapes that appeal to me. Record bullet points and thoughts about how I feel about the stills/moving images - in both India and at home. This will give me the idea of different cultures.

7. Explore short travel films.

Film Form

"Whether concrete or abstract, the subject matter of an artwork must be expressed with form." [*http://www.elementsofcinema.com/film_form/FILM-FORM.html]
Form is a set of conventions of patterened relationships used to define, perceive and evaluate a product.

Filmmakers generally have two basic senses to explore and ignite in their productions; sight and hearing. Elements that stimulate these two senses are endless. The combination of them generates infinite different stories and styles. All of these different possibilities are found in the following;
- Narrative; tells stories.
- Documentary; exposes reality.
- Experimental; experiments on the medium.

Bottle.

 

 

I have now begun my exploration into inspiration for my own film. I am yet to decide on how I want to go about filming and whether or not I want to create a montage film. Despite the fact I have not decided on this just yet, I have decided it would be a good idea to keep searching for inspiration from short films, animations etc. to help with a final decision and later, inspiration for my actual product.

 

 

What I truly love about 'Bottle' is how an idea so simple can be portrayed in such a beautiful and tragic way yet keeping all elements of simplicity, this is what stands out to me completely. It shows that you do not need astonishingly high production values, instead you just need a good idea and a way to develop it.

 

 

 

 

 



Feedback MGS - 19/09/14.

1. Needs to be three posts linking to film form which can be accessed through film4, vimeo, shortshorts.

Montage Filmmaking

Montage Filmmaking

 

The plan for A2 is to produce a short montage film. To do this I must ensure that I have conducted a sufficient amount of indepth research on the chosen genre/type of film.

 

 

Montage Filmmaking

 

Montage is a technique used in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time and information. This term has been used in various contexts, it was first introduced in cinema primarly by Einstein. As well as this, early Soviet directors used it as a synonym for creative editing. The montage sequence is usually used to suggest the passage of time, rather than to create symbolic meaning. Between the 1930s and the 1950s montage sequences often combined numerous short shots with special optical effects, such as fades, split screens, double and triple exposures as well as dissolves, dance and music.

They were usually assembled by someone other than the director or editor of the movie

 

 

Things To Do (Pre-Production)

 

- Firstly, I must plan the most effective way to film the scenes of the film. I must consider the resources I have around me and are available to me, for example, the locations, props, people. As well as this I must consider what message or story I want to send through it.

I must ensure that all information is presented in a fast-paced, yet easily understood way.

> If my goal is to establish a tone or emotional development through the film, I must think through how to be consistent in the things like lighting, props, and scenery - I must ensure that I stay consistent as this will help me convey my message.

 

- Secondly, I must type up the individual scenes or sequences of my montage (this will be documented through blogger also.) I must ensure that I know exactly what I want to produce, how I want to produce it and what will feature with in this production.

 

- Thirdly, storyboard. I must storyboard my production to show development and change. As well as this, having a storyboard will also help me with my production completely - it will help me keep on track with what I want to produce and what shots I have in mind. My storyboard should roughly match what the final filmed montage will look like. I will make adjustments if necessary.

 
- Lastly, I must plan the shoot using the storyboard as well as my research. I should make a list of shots by location and note what actresses/actors, props, costumes, lighting and scenery will be needed at each venue/location.

 

 

The clip below is taken from Sergei Eisenstein's 'Battleship Potemkin.' This combination of shots shows a marble lion reacting to the sailors' rebellion within the harbor. Eisenstein integrates lions scultped in various postures to suggest that all of Moscow is awakening to the people's cause. The sequence requires the viewer to interpret to 'read' the metaphor inherent in the statues and to find a meaning from their presence within the diegesis.

  

 

 



A2 Examiners Report, reviewed 10/09/14.

A2 Examiners Report 

1. Ensure your research is linked to generic codes and conventions which will influence the planning and construction phase of your work.

2. Ensure that you research into existing and ancillary productions, e.g. how posters and reviews are layed out.

3. There must be a clear focus on your target audience. *Tumblr, twitter, facebook.

4. Storyboards MUST be detailed.

5. Shooting schedules.

6. Detailed treatments; what you film, the narrative, location, props, actors. Moodboards, etc.

- All must produce a pitch of the film. This WILL be filmed.

7. Annotate all locations prop shots.

8. Research informs detailed planning.

British New Wave.

British New Wave

The British New Wave is the name given to the trend in film-making among directors in Britain in the late 1950’s and early 60’s. This type of genre centered on the class and the nitty-gritty of day-to-day life. It was also known as the kitchen sink drama.

The British New Wave was characterized by many of the same thematic conventions as the ‘French New Wave.’ Usually in black and white, these films had a spontaneous quality, often shot in style on real locations with real people, rather than extras. Thus forth capturing life as it happens.

Kitchen Sink Realism

Kitchen sink realism, or kitchen sink drama is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950’s and early sixties in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose heroes usually could be described as ‘angry young men.’ It used a style of social realism, which often depicted the domestic situations of the working-class, living in cramped accommodation, which was rented. It would often show the Britons spending their off-hours drinking and exploring social issues and political controversies.

Social Realism

Social Realism is a movement known internationally which draws attention to the everyday conditions of the working classes and the poor, and who are critical of the social structures that maintain these conditions.  

Britain today is still a society in many ways defined by the class of a person. In the 1950’s divisions were far more rigid. The films known as the ‘new wave; films and sources that inspired them gave a voice to a working class that was for the first time – gaining economic power.

Previously in cinema, working class characters had largely been used for a comedic effect. In the ‘new wave’ films we see their lives at the centre of the action.

 

Films included in the British New Wave movement are; A Taste of Honey, Look Back in Anger, Room at the Top, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, A Kind of Loving and Billy Liar.

Many of these films concentrate of the conflicts within the working class, contrasting the roughest working-class lives  (the very poor, criminal, unskilled) Such as Arthur in Saturday Night, Sunday Morning with the more respectable characters whom are skilled, aspirational, educated and ‘moral’ – characters such as Vic Brown and Billy Fisher.
There is clear recognition that social change and affluence will make the system more fluid. There is also an understanding that the essentials of power shan't change – the mindset that reinforces divisions is still very much there.

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/445176/

In Britain critical writing about the state of British cinema began in the 1950’s and foreshadowed some of what was to come. Among the group of critic and documentary film makers was Lindsay Anderson who was a prominent critic writing for the influential Sequence magazine, which was co-founded with Gavin Lambert and Karel Reisz. Karel later became a prominent director also; writing for the British Film Institute’s journal Sight and Sound and the left-wing political weekly the New Statesman. In one of his early and most well-known polemical pieces, Stand Up, Stand Up – he outlined his theories of what British cinema should become. He developed a philosophy of cinema, which found expression in what became known as the Free Cinema Movement by the late 1950’s.

The Free Cinema Movement was the belief that the cinema must break away from it’s class-bound attitudes and that the working classes ought to be noticed and seen on Britain’s screens.

Notable Directors

•           Lindsay Anderson,
•           John Boorman,
•           Jack Clayton,
•           Basil Dearden,
•           Clive Donner,
•           Bryan Forbes,
•           Richard Lester,
•           Ken Loach,
•           Joseph Losey,
•           Karel Reisz,
•           Nicolas Roeg,
•           Tony Richardson,
•           Ken Russell,
•           John Schlesinger,
•           Peter Watkins
•           Peter Yates.

 

Directors, such as those above, brought wide shots and plain speaking to stories of ordinary Britons negotiating post-war social structures. “The new Wave protagonist was usually a working class male without bearings in a society in which traditional industries and the cultures that went with them were in decline.”

Relaxation of censorship enabled film makers to portray issues which were relatable to the audiences – prostitution, abortion, homosexuality, alienation, adultery etc. Characters included factory workers, office underlings, pregnant girlfriends, runaways, the poor, the depressed and dissatisfied wives.

Notable Actresses and Actors

•           Alan Bates,
•           Dirk Bogarde,
•           Julie Christie,
•          Oliver Reed,
•           Tom Courtenay,
•           Tom Bell,
•           Albert Finney,
•           Richard Harris,
•           Laurence Harvey,
•           Rita Tushingham,
•           Richard Burton,
•           Malcolm McDowell.

British New Wave Films

•           Room at the Top (1959)
•           Look Back in Anger (1959)
•           Tiger Bay (1959)
•           Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
•           Hell Is a City (1960)
•           The Entertainer (1960)
•           A Taste of Honey (1961)
•           A Kind of Loving (1962)
•           The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
•           Billy Liar (1963)
•           This Sporting Life (1963)
•           Tom Jones (1963)
•           The L-Shaped Room (1963)
•           A Hard Day's Night (1964)
•           The Knack …and How to Get It (1965)
•           Kes  (1969)
•           If.... (1968)